


Everybody Rolls With Their Fingers Crossed.

by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels)



Category: The Usual Suspects (1995)
Genre: Plots, You Can't Prove This Isn't Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 14:16:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16914450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannamichaels/pseuds/Lanna%20Michaels
Summary: "What's the deal, Kint? What's Soze want from us?"





	Everybody Rolls With Their Fingers Crossed.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [donutsweeper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutsweeper/gifts).



> For donutsweeper. The title is from Everybody Knows by Leonard Cohen.

1\. Hockney

"I'm Verbal Kint," says the man Hockney doesn't recognize. "Keyser Soze sent me. I'm here to tell you how you can all get out of your deals to him."

Hockney hadn't meant to start working for Soze. He never would have done it if he'd known that you only stop working for Soze at the other end of a bullet. Soze doesn't let people go. He haunts them. He shows up with a ton of cash and orders for jobs. And the jobs always pay. But they also cost. If Hockney actually knew what the guy looked like, he'd've killed him by now for sure, just to get Soze off his back. But Soze doesn't do that. No, Soze does exactly this: arranges his life and then has one of his loyal underlings show up and dictate how things are going to go.

"Why's he gonna let us go?" Hockney asks.

Fenster's looking at McManus and they've got their stupid telepathy going. "I'm game for whatever it is," Fenster says. It takes two tries for Hockney to understand him, but that's always how it is with Fenster. It's a power thing, but McManus is a decent guy, so Hockney won't go after Fenster for making him deal with that kind of bullshit.

"No, I want to know the terms," Hockney says. "I'm not getting in worse with the ghost. I got family he's holding over my head."

"So do I," says McManus, finally getting a clue. "What's the deal, Kint? What's Soze want from us?"

Kint shrugs. "Your lives."

"Wait a second," Keaton starts, and then Kint turns and looks at him. 

And Keaton backs down.

Holy shit.

Hockney's got a terrible feeling about this. He's never seen Keaton back down from anything. Keaton doesn't have a bone in his body that's scared of anyone. If he's scared of Soze, okay. If he's scared of Soze's little messenger boy? What the hell is going on here?

"I'm not doing this," Hockney decides, standing up. "When my lawyer shows up, I'm out."

"No, you're not," Kint says, smiling wanly. And then he names a number.

And Hockney sits back down again.

 

2\. McManus

McManus doesn't trust Soze. Fenster talked him into getting involved the first time around, and Fenster runs more jobs for Soze than he brings McManus on, but that's not enough to trust Soze. But Fenster trusts Soze. That has to be good enough for this one job. It could get them killed. It _will_ get them rich.

Soze wants to see how they all work together, so he has them knock over New York's Finest Taxi Service. Lets them keep a couple of the emeralds along with the payment for the job, like McManus has some girl to give them to. But Keaton pockets them, interesting.

The money's good. Kint's a bit weird. Keaton says he knows him from before, they'd run a couple jobs together. And Fenster's being a tight-ass about it, but he says that Kint's good at his job. McManus wonders what Kint's job used to be before he got sucked in by Soze like the rest of them. He looks like an accountant.

Maybe Soze's worried he's gonna get caught on taxes like Capone.

"This is a lot of money," McManus says on the flight to California. It's a private plane; Soze doesn't cut corners. And he always pays too much. He's buying a job well done and he's buying silence. But he's not buying loyalty. If Kint's to be believed, Soze's buying their lives for this job. But if they make it out, they've got enough money to never work again, and that risk is good enough for McManus. If you can't take the heat, get out of his face.

"Soze's like that," Fenster says.

"What's his deal?" McManus asks, pointing at Keaton with his chin. Keaton's been hovering. He hadn't liked leaving New York. McManus had heard that Keaton died. Probably another Soze deal. Soze gets him out of his life, but in return, Keaton works just for him. And Keaton's pacing up and down the plane like something's bitten him.

"Air sick," Fenster says. Keaton, passing by them, gives him the finger.

But they make it to California. And Soze has another job for them there, before the boat is ready.

 

3\. Fenster

Fenster had told Soze this was a bad idea. Soze had told him to shut up. So Fenster had shut up, but it was still a bad idea. Getting five guys together just to kill one guy? Keyser, just blow up the boat. It's not like he hasn't done worse. But Soze wants to do it personally. And doing it personally means being there himself. And being there himself means he needs a crew to kill everyone who gets in his way.

Soze's got all his ducks in order. He has Hakeswill ready to jump in at any time. He has Finneran to get Marquez on the boat. He has McManus, Keaton, and Hockney to rack up body counts. He even has Fenster. But Fenster's not getting on that boat. His deal expires as soon as everything's ready. He'd made sure of that. He'd taken a look at Soze's plan and said, "I'm not one of your disposable felons." He'll get Soze as far as the boat. He's not getting into a death trap, not for any money and not for anything Soze's got over him. One advantage Fenster has over the rest of the crew: he doesn't have anyone for Soze to threaten.

"Neither is Keaton," Soze had said in that measured way of his that meant he was five seconds from shooting you.

"Yeah, he is," Fenster said. "He wants to go legit. You want to get rid of him."

"Keaton's my bodyguard for the boat," Soze said, not contradicting Fenster at all. Soze lies all the time. It wouldn't have cost him anything to pretend he cares about Keaton. But Soze, he's had Keaton for a long time. Keaton's good at his job. But working for Soze isn't a job you ever quit.

"McManus can do that," Fenster said.

"Your McManus asks a lot of questions," Soze said. It sounded exactly like a death sentence. Which is what it was. Unless Fenster can shoot Soze in the back.

But as soon as he did, Hakeswill would have Fenster cut up into five different barrels, floating toward five different countries. McManus isn't worth it. No one is.

If Fenster ever finds a reason good enough to say no to Soze, he'd risk it. But McManus isn't it. Either McManus can look out for himself on the boat, or he can't. 

Fenster hopes he can.

And on Thursday, after Soze hands Fenster the loot from Saul Berg and tells him to go take it back to Soze in New York, Fenster gives McManus one last look and a thumbs-up. It's up to McManus now to survive. Fenster can't do anything more for him.

 

4\. Keaton

The less said about the plan, the better.

Keaton had liked it at the beginning. But once they got to California, he's started to wonder. And once Soze dismissed Fenster, he _knew_. Soze doesn't intend for any of them to get off the boat alive.

But Keaton has a job to do and nowhere else to go. The price for Soze faking his death had been worse than Keaton had thought. He'd thought he'd known what he was getting into; he'd been wrong. He stays in Soze's apartments. He doesn't own anything himself. He's tried to hide away cash; Soze's always found it. Keaton doesn't have any resources that aren't also Soze's. If Soze cuts him loose, Keaton's going to be scrambling for a good long while. But Soze doesn't do that. Soze gets rid of people with two signature shots into the forehead.

Or, Keaton realizes, he gets rid of them by giving them suicide missions and expecting them to see it through to the end.

Soze had needed three people on the boat: Keaton to watch his back, Hockney and McManus to kill everyone while Soze did what he came there for. He hadn't needed Fenster, so Fenster had gone off like a good little boy back to New York to keep an eye on things for Soze, that little rat.

Soze, Keaton notices, doesn't need anyone to get him _off_ the boat. He'll have had it arranged with Hakeswill already. The police will be called. Kint will be taken in. And Hakeswill will come down and get him off on any charges. Everyone always falls for the Kint act. Even Keaton had, the first time he'd seen it.

But the boat is an opportunity. If Keaton can get Soze to think he died. If Keaton can get into the water.

He doesn't have much, but he has some jewels sewn into his clothes. He won't lose them in the water. He knows a couple fences from before. Soze doesn't own everybody, especially not on this coast. Keaton could get away. He could start over.

He just has to outsmart Soze to do it.

And if he doesn't, well, he was already dead.

 

5\. Kint

Verbal brushes his hands clean after he throws the butt of his cigarette out the window. There's still lingering soreness in his fingers and he stretches them out again.

"Any complications?" he asks Hakeswill. Someone had brought the name Keyser Soze into it. Something hadn't gone according to plan.

"There's a Hungarian in the burn ward," Hakeswill says. He looks concerned about Verbal, but he's been with him from the start, since the days when Verbal was just a conman playing games. He knows what killing Arturo means. By the time Verbal had Keaton to take Arturo's place, Verbal had known to be more careful. But he hadn't been very careful at the beginning. When Arturo had left, Verbal hadn't had the reach he does now. When Arturo had left, Verbal doesn't know if he'd have been able to do what he just did: look him in the eye and kill him. "Edie's taking care of it."

Verbal nods. Edie had been the leash on Keaton, but that's not necessary anymore. He has plans now for Edie. She's one of his greatest creations, after himself. "How's Fenster?"

"He got into a bar fight last night."

Verbal frowns. He had thought to have Fenster replace Keaton. But if Fenster can't handle the work, if he's acting out... "Am I going to have to deal with that?"

"I'll keep an eye on him," Hakeswill says. "You should get some rest. We're not meeting with the Argentinians for six hours."

Always far too concerned. But he's right. Verbal feels worn out. Too many plans all came together at once. He's going to need time to regroup. "Wake me when we get to the airport," he orders. He rests his head back against the seat, closes his eyes, and sleeps.

**Author's Note:**

> [this post on dreamwidth](https://lannamichaels.dreamwidth.org/1021429.html); [this post on tumblr](https://lannamichaels.tumblr.com/post/180937438030/everybody-rolls-with-their-fingers-crossed-1833)


End file.
